UNCTAD provides intellectual leadership and serves as a source of expertise on science, technology and innovation (STI) and information and communication technologies (ICTs) policies for development.

UNCTAD’s activities in this area seek to bring the development perspective to international discussions, supporting consensus-building and capacity-building for sound, evidence-based, development-oriented policy in relevant areas.

STI, including ICTs, are an essential component of policies to promote development. They can serve as instruments for supporting relevant components of the national development agenda, helping local industry compete, generating better paying jobs, reducing poverty, promoting export diversification and catching up.

However, the assimilation, diffusion and application of scientific and technological knowledge require investments in human and physical capital, together with the establishment and nurturing of a national innovation system and a systematic effort to access and use relevant knowledge. Policies at the national and international levels are needed to organize and sustain those processes.

News

The first ever joint global survey conducted by UNCTAD and the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) reveals a number of priority areas where policy interventions are required in order to foster the growth and development of the software and IT services industry.​

UNCTAD review recommends that the Dominican Republic expand efforts to encourage innovation activity in domestic businesses, as that is where the greatest payoff in jobs and economic growth can be realized.​

In the run up to the Rio+20 UN sustainable development summit, the United Nations Group on the Information Society (UNGIS), which is currently chaired by UNCTAD, organized a side-event on "ICTs: The foundation of our sustainable future" at the RioCentro in Rio de Janeiro on 17 June to focus attention on the catalytic role of ICTs in meeting development goals.​

Speaking at a conference in Astana, Kazakhstan on 22 May, Mr. Petko Draganov, UNCTAD D-SG, encouraged the country's Government to continue creating environments that foster innovation and employ technology as a fundamental driver of the economic growth of the country.

Developments in the ICT landscape have provided opportunities for innovation, collaboration and learning. However, for applied science to keep delivering benefits to societies, a stronger commitment to basic science and research is required, participants agreed.​